In search of Odin!
by David Scholes
Summary: Rune Thor awakens after the eternal Thor sleep. His thoughs are of his father whom he believes still lves! Please read on!


In search of Odin

**In search of Odin !**

So it came to pass that the great Rune Thor finally awakened from his seemingly endless sleep in a place deeper in interstellar space than mortal man will ever travel. "Never have I felt so refreshed, so powerful, so fully aware" thought Thor "but what caused me to awaken?"

With his heightened level of awareness Thor looked about and within mere moments took in all of significance that had transpired in the Multiverse since he had chosen to rest. He looked for what remnants, if any, there might be of things Asgardian. Recalling with instant clarity the time when he chose to defy the will of the lecherous "those who live above in shadow" and also the Asgardian fates. He was comforted to see that not all things Asgardian had been completely destroyed.

For one thing, his hammer, one of the greatest weapons ever known to abstract being, cosmic power, god or man lay many hundreds of meters below the sea bed in the very deepest part of Earth's oceans. "Eventually I shall retrieve great Mjolnor" thought Thor "but for the nonce I shall make it even more inaccessible than it is at present". With this he weaved a spell of undetectability about the hammer, at the same time re-establishing and reinforcing the hammer's worthiness enchantment.

The Destroyer armour, for another, lay scarred and battered but still fundamentally intact, inert among a ring of debris orbiting a star toward the outer edge of our Universe. "That too shall I also make even less accessible" mused Thor "for I have no wish for that which was designed to slay even Celestials to fall into the wrong hands". Thor temporarily moved the Destroyer construct into limbo "I shall decide later whether to completely destroy it, or retain it in some form" considered Thor "With all the power now available to me I do not need the Destroyer"

There were other things Asgardian, not much to be sure, and dispersed through various dimensions. However it would have been sufficient to give a modicum of comfort to the allies of Asgard and some degree of disappointment to its many enemies. Thor then turned inwardly seeking the reason for his awakening and came to the sudden realization that he could just sense his father, almost imperceptible, as if Odin were somehow beyond any known plane of existence.

"Wherever he is, he has retained some vestigial element of the OdinPower" mused Thor.

Sensing Odin's existence but completely unable to detect his location Thor looked about the Multiverse for any and all that might be able to help him locate his father. Somewhat to his surprise he detected the entity Orikal who had returned from whence he came before spending so long as a guest of King Geirridour of the Trolls. "You deceived me Orikal" said Thor "when last we spoke you maintained you could not detect my father on any plane of existence." " In a sense this was true" responded Orikal " I could not detect Odin on any plane of existence known to me" " However I do not recall saying that he was dead" " In truth, and for reasons best known to himself, Almighty Odin extracted a promise from me that I not divulge his continued existence to any entity, even you" " Where he is now is beyond my perception, and although I might speculate as to that place, I do not have the power to help you"

Thor looked about again "what of the Earth mage Steven Strange" "He has relationships with and access to a vast array of immensely powerful mystic entities, perhaps, collectively, they can assist me". At that moment and communicating telepathically across the gulf of space Thor realized that Strange and his many powerful mystical allies had indeed allied themselves and addressed the matter. Teleporting interdimensionally and instantly to Stranger's inner sanctum Thor greeted the Earth's sorcerer supreme and a variety of his mystical allies, including some entities he would not expect to have been present.

"Glad I am to see you so well Lord Thor" said Strange "and while the location of your father is beyond the perception of any of those present individually we have collectively been able to determine a pathway through the dimensions that might bring you closer to your father" " It is the best we can manage" said Strange "we have telepathically implanted the path in your mind and can be of no further aid to you " your ability to traverse the dimensions is beyond any and all of us" " In time, you would have detected the pathway but we have been working on the problem for somewhat longer than you".

"We bid you every success Lord Thor "said Steven strange as Thor immediately took his leave of the mighty assemblage of mystical entities.

Long, twisting and arduous was Thor's journey through the dimensional labyrinths venturing where few living entities had ever gone before and where any laws known to abstract, cosmic power, god or man seemed totally inapplicable. He was greatly encouraged however as his father's essence became distinctly more perceptible as Thor's journey continued. Eventually the labyrthyne journey seemed to end as there seemed no where else to go. Just up ahead (figuratively speaking) lay what seemed one last barrier twixt father and son.

As Thor readied himself to penetrate the barrier by whatever means necessary (and it did not even occur to him that the barrier might be impenetrable) the massive form of the Living Tribunal suddenly appeared. "You have no authority to proceed further Odinson" conveyed the Tribunal. " Will you keep father from son ?" said Thor. "It will not be necessary" said the Tribunal "You lack the power to penetrate the barrier".

As Rune Thor gathered himself the Living Tribunal impassively stepped aside allowing Thor to attack the barrier. All the might of the OdinPower combined with the vast mystic power of the Runes crashed against the enigmatic barrier. Wave upon wave of energies surge unremittingly against the barrier. Here in this place where time means nothing Thor's attack continued without end and unabated and with no sign of him tiring. If anything the ferocity of the attack increased as Rune Thor moved through the full range of energies and powers available to him. At one point Thor mystically growing to the size of the Tribunal and physically reigning blow after blow after blow against the barrier.

Such was the nature of Thor's attack that almost any other target on any other plane of existence would have fallen before him. However as he ceased his attack it was evident that he had caused no perceptible damage to or penetration of the barrier.

" MIGHTY THOUGH YOU ARE YOU CANNOT PENETRATE THE BARRIER LORD THOR AND YOU HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO PROCEED BEYOND IT" conveyed the Living Tribunal.

" Father, you know that I am here, attack the barrier from your own side as I attack it from this side and we can defeat it together" cried Thor but with no real conviction that either the sound of his voice or his telepathic communication could go where physical and energy attacks had failed. Realising that the barrier simply might not be vulnerable to any level of physical or energy attack Thor reconsidered his position. " Will the barrier stop a son's love for his father or a father's love for his son " Thor cried out to the Tribunal as Thor reached out emotionally for his father thought to be so long dead and the love of a god moved against the barrier.

Slowly but perceptibly the barrier began to shimmer then fail and as this happened the Living Tribunal moved across Thor's path. " YOU STILL HAVE NO AUTHORITY TO PROCEED " said the Tribunal.

Now the same massive size as the Tribunal, Thor called defiantly " I will fight even you if I have to Tribunal, I will not leave this place until I have seen my father !" For a moment it seemed as if these two great powers Rune Thor and the Living Tribunal would clash but it was not to be.

Moving from the area beyond the failed barrier Almighty Odin larger even than the Tribunal strode forth. " Step aside Tribunal" he ordered " We no longer have need of you, at this time"

" Father !" cried Thor. As he looked at Odin, Thor noticed someone standing alongside Odin, although he could not really see the entity very well, nor could he really see beyond the failed barrier.

" It is good to see you my son, but you must accept that I have moved on as must you"

"You will always be blood of the blood and I will ever watch what you do with interest, but you cannot join me in this place."

" It is not my place to protect you as I once would have my son but you do not need it" " In all truth there are few indeed in all the Multiverse that would now cause you concern" continued Odin. " Go your way, make of your life what you will, recreate Asgard if that is what you wish for you have more than enough power to do so"

As Thor turned to leave he noticed the intensity of light about the individual side by side with Odin and he understood. "Goodbye father" said Thor.

4


End file.
